


And with a cherry on top

by Hollow_Vessel



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: F/F, Pamr, Rare Pair, Skoodge mentioned, Sneaking Out, Training Days, Zim mentioned, injuries mentioned, save me from these side characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22731295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollow_Vessel/pseuds/Hollow_Vessel
Summary: Poki reflects on the old days, and one particularly vivid memory of a date spent with Miyuki.
Relationships: Implied Tak/Tenn, Implied Zim/Skoodge, Poki/Miyuki
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	And with a cherry on top

Cadet Cram - STATUS: Well. PROGRESS: Fast

Cadet Eku - STATUS: Improved. PROGRESS: Steady

Cadet Jeki - STATUS: Well. PROGRESS: Declining

Poki flicked through the lists on her tablet with practiced swiftness, eyes scanning for any abnormalities. She updated each invader trainee’s status and answered a few questions for each, skipping over meal plans and training schedules, as they had already been fixed at the beginning of the quarter.

Every cadet had a time table dedicated to them on the data tables. And for the most part, they were all the same. The class she taught was the elite one she had been told. And she mostly believed it.

Among the class were several star students, including Tak, Tenn, and Red. There was Purple, who was class Tallest along with Red... And the shortest of the group was... Zim.

And Zim was a long story for another day.

As the commander came to his status report, she stuck the edge of her pen into her mouth and continued walking down the long, empty hallway, mind buzzing with thoughts.

Thoughts of how things used to be different. How Poki had trained was so much different than this class she was currently raising. The standards had changed and what was required of the commanders had changed. It was more rigorous now, much stricter, more restrictive on the soldiers.

She had been trained under commander Spurk. And that had been before Miyuki was Tallest. The Tallest had been named Rogue. He along with Miri had been a mellow pair of Tallests, one clad in maroon and the other in shades of yellow. Together they had expanded the empire and developed the snack production industry vastly.

Serving under them was different than the current regime by a lot... They hadn’t put too much emphasis on the huge military power of the Irken empire as Tallests Spork and Miyuki did. 

Poki remained in this thinking state as she approached the Tallests’ chambers. Once she arrived, she would lower her pen to the side of her tablet and allow the small magnet to attract it and hold it in place.

Poki politely knocked on the door to the chambers. She would never get used to this, she swore... “Commander Poki here!” She greeted as she normally did, before she held onto her tablet with both hands and directed her gaze upward as she waited to be let into their room.

The door slid open and a green wearing Tallest waved for her to enter. 

She dipped her head in respect and stepped inside once Spork gestured for her to, before walking straight to the center of the room. In front of her was the main couch in the room, and to the side was a snack table and TV, which was accompanied by another chair, made for one Irken.

The Tallests’ chambers were very luxurious. Every surface was made up of something plush, made of top of the line silks and stuffing. Everything was as comfortable as possible for the two very tall beings who resided here.  
Tallest Spork and Tallest Miyuki. 

In front of Poki sat Tallest Miyuki, in all of her elegant blue beauty and fairness.

She gave a smile to Poki. “Trainee reports?” She asked.  
“Trainee reports.” Poki confirmed in a dreamy tone. This was a weekly occurrence, the trainee reports. And yet each time still filled her chest with a bubbly feeling. Even if she was in this chamber way more often than just weekly.

Spork watched the interaction with indifference before floating by and taking the other chair, sitting down to watch the TV and sip his cherry soda.

Miyuki stretches out an arm before subtly adjusting herself. “Come and sit while we chat.” She offered. Always with the formalities...

“Oh, my Tallest.” Poki cooed softly, before taking her seat besides Miyuki. She lifted up her tablet once more and began reading the reports to her significant other, including the run down on the recent mission and training sessions.

The blue-clad Tallest took her spot, perching over Poki’s shoulder to read off of her screen, before simply holding onto Poki and leaning close while listening to Poki’s soothing, slightly rugged voice. 

Poki felt her face getting a bit warm, as it usually did when Miyuki chose to be this close, but kept reading.

Once the reports were finished with, she would have more time to be close with her. It was just like back in the day...

“Do you remember how it used to be?” Poki trailed away from her reports after a few more monotonous seconds of reading, maroon red gaze flicking up to her Tallest.  
“How it used to be?” Miyuki mirrored in a slightly spacey tone of voice, blue eyes focusing on Poki’s contrasting ones. 

“Back when we were in training...” Poki specified with a soft drawl to her voice.

Miyuki nodded. “Those were different times... How different Tallests Rouge and Miri led...” She slumped further against Poki, wrapping her claws around Poki’s smaller, but sturdy form. Her claws twitched and nudged at her armor. A smile spread across Poki’s face as she thought about their training days, and at the cuddles of Miyuki. 

“I think it was better... Before all of these regulations.” She held out her tablet and gave it a hearty shake for emphasis, before laughing softly and bringing it to her chest in a hug. 

“It was more peaceful... And yet churned out the same quality, if not better soldiers...” Miyuki said softly to her little commander, before nuzzling her.

“I miss it. The sneaking out with you...” Her volume dropped to a low whisper. “When we would beat the tar out of all the other cadets...” She smirked slightly and laughed. 

“Especially Spork.” The Taller chimed.

Poki could still feel the dumb grin adorning her face as she nodded in agreement.  
“Especially Spork.” 

As if he had heard his name being mentioned, Spork would turn his TV up louder and begin watching in his preferred way, upside down (thanks for his hover belt).

“Why are you thinking about this, my Poki Poki?” 

She gave a soft hum as she readjusted herself to have an arm around Miyuki, while casting the tablet aside on the large, spacious couch. “Why... I can see myself and you in some of my cadets. And it scares me.” She whispered truthfully.

“Oh?”

“They’re going to get themselves in trouble and I don’t know if I can handle anything happening to my students.” Poki explained softly, antennae drooping.

“I’m sure they won’t do anything like that..” She said, blinking slightly. Poki was so soft... Too kind. “Who are these recruits you’re worried about?”

Poki did the next best thing to saying their names, lazily lifting her reports tablet and scrolling down for each profile. As she went, she pointed out four names to her Tallest. Zim. Skoodge. Tak. And Tenn.

Miyuki smiled at the profiles of these four little invader-to-bes. “Something tells me they’ll be alright... Especially...” She pointed to Zim. “Him.”

“Of course.” Poki said fondly, almost proudly. She knew he was Miyuki’s favorite. Which was an odd thing to have in her girlfriend’s class. But Poki could understand her choice. Zim did have an odd charm to him beneath his tendencies to cause destruction. And Poki felt that she was doing well to mold his nature into something more focused.

“I have no doubts that they’ll all do well in training... But some of the other commanders are very... Harsh.” Poki settled on after a moment. She couldn’t think of any other words to it. They were harsh on the invaders, seeming to not remember how it felt to be in their place. Or, not caring. Perhaps that is how things would be from now on...

“I can speak with them if you’d like..” Miyuki said with a low edge to her voice, batting her eyes at Poki for a moment. The commander scoffed and shook her head. 

“No, no... There isn’t any need for that... They’re all justified in their treatment of the cadets... I just don’t like to see fellow Irkens in pain.” She pressed out a cool breath and closed her eyes, seeming to be in thought. Her antennae twitched suddenly and she shook her head.  
“I suppose I’ll have to be a bit harder on them...” Poki said softly to herself, claws uncomfortably gripping her tablet.

Miyuki wrapped her claws around Poki’s hands. “Treat them as you wish. I know they’ll be great invaders and soldiers under your watch.” She smiled and cooed softly to the stressed commander. Poki shook her head and sighed.

“I know they will, it's just...” She trailed off before shaking her head again. “I guess you’re right...”

“Aren’t I always?” Miyuki purred and wrapped Poki in a warm, tight embrace. Her hands trailed to Poki’s head, where they settled into a gentle rhythm of antennae pats.  
Poki allowed it and closed her eyes, finally giving in and letting out a soft purr of content at the soothing sensation going down her antennae. 

“Yes, yes you are...”

The pair sat like that for a while, wrapped within each other’s caring grip and loving embrace. Poki had an antennae perked to the time.

“I should probably be getting back now. I have more reports to write.” Poki said, but made no move to detach Miyuki from herself.

“Do you want to?”

Poki tilted her head in confusion. “Huh-... Well of course not my Tallest. I’d rather spend my entire life here with you, you know tha-.” Poki found herself cut off by a claw put to her mouth.

“Poki, Poki... I was only messing with you. Why don’t you stay here with me for a little longer?”

By this point Spork had fallen asleep watching Irken TV. 

Poki looked up at her with a warm expression and a light blush pressed against her face. “I do have a job, you know.”

“And my word is law, is it not, Poki?”

“It is, Miyuki.” Poki said, resigned but not disappointed with the situation she found herself in. 

The blue Tallest shifted to be lying on her side, and in one swift movement, had Poki pulled up beside her and out of breath.

“You really need to be given more time off..” Miyuki said in thought as she wrapped her arms around Poki.

She smiled to the words spoken so closely and gently to her antennae, closing her eyes and shifting slightly. The couch hugged their forms comfortably. Like a warm hug from the cushy material as well as from Miyuki. And like that Poki found herself taking an extended break time, and falling asleep in Miyuki’s arms.

—-

Poki felt conflicted about her trainees. While she needed to teach them discipline, she was sure that they already knew it. They did as they were told and were never disrespectful of her, aside from occasional outbursts.  
And each of those times resulted in... an antennae docking. Not from her, of course. She would much rather assign more exercise as punishment. Or even, begrudgingly, that antennae frequency device. 

Despite that, the thought made her whole body crawl with discomfort and her antennae to twitch, as if she could feel the phantom pain of it.

She herself had never felt the pain or humiliation of it, but she had seen it dished out many, many times.

To Poki, this felt extreme. She still much preferred more old fashioned methods. A good yelling and assignment of more laps. Nothing like back-breaking labor to instill obedience into unruly soldiers.  
That was what felt right to her, and that’s how her class was to be operated.

She smiled to herself as she walked past the training tent and more towards the nearby Irken city center.

Training now took place planetside. There was an Irken settlement of drones and other such workers situated right beside them.  
There were restaurants and places of housing. Though the cadets and commanders lived on the outskirts of it in set up tents (for extra mission preparation of the students of course). It was a nice simulation of what it might be like on a mission, though slightly nicer. 

With how lax Poki was, according to her fellow trainers, she should not have been shocked to see two familiar faces who should not be here this far into town. But what surprised her was exactly who she had spotted. Not the rambunctious Zim or the gullible Skoodge.  
But instead, two of the other Irkens considered to be at the top of the class. Tak and Tenn. They were maybe even the top, grades-wise. And Poki would recognize those distinct antennae curls from anywhere...

To see them sneaking about... it made her spooch swirl and flip with the stirred up old feelings, memories of the old days resurfacing. This reminded her of... Herself. Herself and Miyuki...

...

_“What are we doing?” Poki asked softly, adjusting her armor slightly with the nudge of a claw. Miyuki, the taller of the pair, simply shrugged. “We can do anything we’d like. We ARE the tallest in the class, after all.”_

_“No, you are the tallest. You and Spork.”_

_“Third tallest is still an impressive thing, Poki... Now let’s go somewhere fun.” She tugged on Poki’s anxious claws with a smile pulling across her face._

_Poki stumbled forward a pace before regaining her balance and following behind her, claws helplessly trapped in Miyuki’s iron grip. Not that she’d rather have her claws anywhere else, though._

_“Where will we go?” Poki asked, smiling slightly despite herself. She did enjoy sneaking out with Miyuki... The instructors seldom watched them past the end of lessons, and the locals seemed to enjoy their presence, and nobody ratted them out to their commanders. Though perhaps it was the sense of safety that such youngblood was being trained up to protect them that cast them in a good light._

_“I have an idea, actually.” Miyuki broke the comfortable silence, her voice filling Poki with a giddy feeling. “Oh you do?” She asked with a slight tease to her tone. “You usually have no idea until we get there... when you find a nice place for us to... Y-you know.” She stammered, blushing slightly, suddenly feeling overheated under her training armor._

_“No. Well, we could cuddle later I guess..” Miyuki said in plain tones._

_Poki twitched slightly and gave Miyuki’s hand a tight squeeze. “You just-!”_

_“Shhhh. You’ll like this, I swear.” Miyuki pulled Poki to the side of the street, bringing her in for a quick hug and a peck on the face, effectively quieting the stressed soldier. Miyuki smiled for the small squeak Poki face at the sudden show of affection.  
Poki stared at her with widened eyes, which seemed to be alit with the bright, shiny moonlight they reflected._

_“You’re very... Pretty, you know that right?” The blue eyed cadet spoke in a hushed, almost mysterious tone. It made Poki’s guts churn in a very nice way.  
“I... Just... Take me to wherever we’re going.” Poki still had a smile on her face, even if Miyuki always did this to her. The closeness was intoxicating. This was so unallowed and yet she couldn’t convince herself that there was anything wrong with it._

_“Fine.” Miyuki pulled away, but still gripped at Poki’s hands. She only released one claw to pull from her pocket a stack of monies._

_Poki blinked and vaguely gestured at it, a question dancing on her lips, but unspoken._

_“There was a reason I was arguing with Spork earlier.” Miyuki batted her eyes, a little smirk slowly building on her face._

_“You mugged him.” Poki said with a nod. Miyuki returned the gesture.  
“More specifically, I stole his lunch monies...” She smiled and spread out the bucks slightly in her hand. “Are you hungry?”_

_Poki nodded, enticed. “...Did you find somewhere nice to eat?” A new place.. That sounded exciting!_

_“Maybe.” Miyuki said teasingly. And without giving Poki a chance to reply, she tugged her out from the alleyway and back into the cold, exposed streets._

_They approached an establishment built on the corner of an intersection. It was an old timey diner. The scent from it was warm and sweet. The grease was obvious in the air, and while Poki didn’t exactly enjoy greasy snacks..._

_Poki’s mouth watered slightly as she waited for Miyuki to order, simply balling her claws together and resting her arms on the table. Her antennae were perked and twitching slightly due to the new, foriegn scents and sounds.  
It was sort of a warm feeling, to hear the Irkens in the back actually preparing their meal... Why didn’t other restaurants have it set up like this? Why so much emphasis on efficiency... Poki was lost in thought while she waited._

_After a few moments that felt like forever, Miyuki walked back to the table where she had left Poki. Together they had a little corner booth... For some privacy, Poki assumed. This also reduced their chances of being found by a lone commander out on the town._

_...Behind Miyuki walked a food drone, carrying a tray. On it was a large looking shake, with a cherry on top. Beside it was a still steaming carton of fries. The scents from both items were delicious. No wonder Miyuki had had to take Spork’s money. There was no way that their meager training funds would afford them a meal from this high quality restaurant._

_Poki waited, antennae perked as Miyuki picked up the slushy and placed it at the table. She also set down the fries, before sliding into her seat across from Poki._

_“Wow... This is..” Her breath caught and she found herself with a dumb grin on her face._

_“I know... I knew you’d love it.” Miyuki said, lifting up one of the fries from the carton between her claws. She brought it up to Poki’s face and without a second thought, she took the fry in one bite. It was warm and had a slight crunch to it. Truly, a masterpiece of a fry._

_Her expression lit up as she picked up a fry and offered it to Miyuki, who smiled and took a bite of it. “Mmm... Very glad I beat up Spork for this.” She said in a hushed tone, eyes sparkling slightly. Or, they seemed to, even in the low lighting of the diner._

_Poki went to pick up another fry, but a clawed hand over hers caused her to stop and look up._

_“Don’t forget about the best part.” Miyuki reminded her with a chiding claw.  
“Hm- Oh!” She laughed softly as she looked to the shake. It was topped with whipped cream, red sauce, and a cherry on top. _

_“Mhm.” Miyuki flashed her a toothy grin before picking up two straws from the tray, slowly ripping off the paper before dunking them both into either side of the cool treat with an unceremonious thunk._

_“Oh I see.” Poki said simply, smiling to Miyuki before leaning forwards to take a sip of the shake. And at the same moment Miyuki (almost dramatically) leaned herself over the table to take a sip as well, putting their faces pretty close together.  
Poki stared wide eyes as she took a swig of the cold, sweet, strawberry shake. _

_She leaned away and swallowed her gulp, before bursting into laughter.  
Now it was Miyuki’s turn to have her fade turn a cute shade of turquoise. “What?” Miyuki asked, antennae perked and expression light._

_“Just..” Poki trailed off softly as she caught her breath. “You’re so much cuter from close up.” She winked at the taller._

_“You are too...” Miyuki said quietly before taking her straw from the drink and lapping up the ice cream from the side of it.  
“I saw it in a movie.” Miyuki blurted after a moment, face still flushed._

_Poki blinked and scratched at the side of her neck in thought. “Would I want to see this movie?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Then I think I have our next plan in line, wouldn’t you say?” Poki then picked up the shake and started sipping._

_“Thanks for getting strawberry, by the way.” She said, taking a break from the shake but still clutching it in her claws._

_Miyuki simply smiled and shook her head, toying with the fries in her claws. “I ordered it for you, strawberry.”_

_Poki looked away in embarrassment and hissed out a small note._

_“What was that?” Miyuki asked, nibbling on the edge of a still warm fry._

_“I said.” Poki began, making eye contact. Her gaze grew dreamy. “That I love you.” Her voice took on a hushed aspect. That was a secret of course... No one else could know that she said such a thing. The words felt droopy and nice to say and..._

_Miyuki smiled, looking down for a moment. “And I you.” She managed, before covering up by eating the fry she had been poking at._

_“Oh don’t say it like that.” Poki closed her eyes in content and took another drink from her shake._

_“Fine, fine.. How about like this?”_

_She slid out of her seat and just as quickly sat beside Poki, leaning into her.  
“I love you.” Miyuki said, guiding Poki to look at her with a claw before pressing her face to Poki’s._

_Poki could have died right then and there and been happy with her life._

Poki was silent as she approached the two cadets, carrying herself with confidence. She WAS taller than the pair, after all.

She reached out and put her gauntleted claws over both of their shoulders.

The two cadets lept beneath her claws and whipped around to face her, expressions mostly ridden with shock and regret.

“Commander Poki!” The purple one began. Tak.

“It’s not what it looks like.” The red one explained. Tenn.

“Oh? Well... If it’s not, then.” Poki took a breath. The two cadets looked confused and seemed to be holding a breath as well.

“I’ll be checking the barracks in three hours. Be there.” Poki said, feeling her stony expression melt away. A smile stood where there once was a deadpan. 

“Don’t have too much fun.” Poki said, before turning and leaving with a wave.

The pair chirped their confusions to one another before scampering off, thankful for the mercy and kindness of their commander, but just as confused. And though their day would surely go differently than Poki’s and Miyuki’s had all those years ago, Poki still felt that she had done the right thing. Her steps felt lighter as she thought about filling out her reports for an excuse to see her lovely.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaa I couldn’t edit the second half it was. Aaa,,,


End file.
